This simple children's lit taught me to "BELIEVE"
Kung Fu Panda is a 2008 American animated comedy blockbuster. It was directed by John Stevenson and Mark Osborne and produced by Melissa Cobb. The film was produced by DreamWorks Animation's studio in Glendale, California and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The film stars the voices of Jack Black as the panda, Po, along with Dustin Hoffman, Angelina Jolie, Ian McShane, Lucy Liu, Seth Rogen, David Cross, Randall Duk Kim and Jackie Chan. Set in ancient China, the plot revolves around a bumbling panda who aspires to be a kung fu master. After a much feared warrior is predicted to escape from prison, Po is foretold to be the Dragon Warrior, much to the chagrin of the resident kung fu warriors. DreamWorks is working on a sequel to Kung Fu Panda, which is currently in pre-production.[4]
Although the concept of a "kung fu panda" has been around since at least 1993,[5] the idea for the film was conceived by Michael Lachance,[6] a DreamWorks Animation executive. Work on the film did not begin until 2004. The film was originally intended to be a parody, but director Stevenson decided to instead shoot an action comedy martial arts film in the spirit of Hong Kong action cinema that incorporates the hero's journey narrative archetype for the lead character. The computer animation in the film was more complex than anything DreamWorks had done before. As with most DreamWorks animated films, Hans Zimmer (collaborating with John Powell this time around) scored Kung Fu Panda. He visited China to absorb the culture and get to know the China National Symphony Orchestra as part of his preparation.
Kung Fu Panda premiered in the United States on June 1 2008, and has since received very favorable reviews from critics. The film currently garners an 89% "Certified Fresh" approval rating from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. Kung Fu Panda opened in 4,114 theaters, grossing $20.3 million on its opening day and $60.2 million on its opening weekend, resulting in the number one position at the box office. The film has resulted in DreamWorks' biggest opening for a non-sequel film, highest grossing animated movie of the year, and the third-largest weekend overall for a DreamWorks animated film, behind Shrek the Third and Shrek 2.
PLOT
In China (populated entirely by anthropomorphic characters), the Valley of Peace is protected by the Furious Five - Tigress, Monkey, Mantis, Viper, and Crane - a quintet of warriors trained in kung fu by tortoise Master Oogway and his protégé, the red panda Master Shifu. One day, Master Oogway has a premonition that Shifu's former pupil and foster-son, the snow leopard Tai Lung, who was imprisoned after turning to evil, will escape from prison and attack the Valley. Oogway instructs Shifu and the others to hold a tournament in order to choose the legendary Dragon Warrior, worthy to receive the power of the Dragon Scroll, which is said to give limitless power to whoever reads it.
Po, a young Giant panda and kung fu fanatic who works in his goose father's noodle restaurant, is anxious to see the tournament, but is instead forced to take a noodle cart up the mountain to the Jade Temple. When he arrives, the gates are closed and the tournament has already started. Desperate to see the tournament, Po straps himself to a set of fireworks, by which he propels himself into the middle of the arena just as Oogway is about to point out the new Dragon Warrior, so that Oogway indicates Po as such. Unwilling to believe that a clumsy, fat panda can become the Dragon Warrior, Shifu attempts to berate and humiliate Po into quitting, subjecting him to a grueling series of matches with the Five, all of whom despise Po as an upstart. Po is dejected after his first day of training; but advised by Master Oogway, he refuses to quit. Soon, he endears himself to the Five with his impressive tenacity, culinary skill and good humor, though he is still unable to grasp the basics of kung fu.
Meanwhile, Tai Lung escapes from prison and returns to the Valley. Oogway, meanwhile, perishes and ascends to heaven in a swirl of flower petals, having exacted a promise from Shifu that the latter will train Po. Upon hearing that Tai Lung is coming, Po panics and tries to flee the Temple. Shifu refuses to let him go, insisting that Oogway's advice must be obeyed, but Po has lost all confidence and Shifu is at a loss for an answer. Seeing this argument, Tigress leads the Furious Five to stop Tai Lung themselves. The next morning, Shifu discovers that Po displays impressive agility when he is motivated by food. Therefore he takes Po for solitary training in the mountains and, by promising food as a reward, trains Po into a skilled warrior.
The Five confront Tai Lung over a long rope bridge, but he sends them back to the Valley defeated. Feeling that Po is ready to fight, Shifu gives him the Dragon Scroll, which he opens to reveal nothing but a blank, reflective surface. Shifu, despairing, orders Po and the Five to evacuate the valley while he prepares to delay Tai Lung for as long as he can. During the evacuation, Po finds his father who, in an attempt to console him, reveals that the long-withheld secret ingredient of his famous "secret ingredient soup" is nothing except the belief in the soup's specialty. Po realizes this idea is the point of the Dragon Scroll and returns to face Tai Lung.
At the temple, Tai Lung confronts Master Shifu and demands the Scroll. When Shifu refuses, Tai Lung attacks Shifu and nearly kills him before Po arrives. Tai Lung can hardly believe that the "Dragon Warrior" is a "big, fat panda"; but as he battles Po to take the Scroll, Po unexpectedly proves himself an equal. Tai Lung gains the upper hand and opens the Scroll, but cannot comprehend its symbolic value. Po explains that "there is no secret ingredient" other than the warrior's belief in himself; but Tai Lung fails to understand and attacks again. With the combination of his new understanding and his own natural resilience, Po counter-attacks with devastating effectiveness and finally defeats Tai Lung and destroys him by means of a technique called the "Wuxi Finger Hold", which Shifu had earlier revealed by threatening to use it on Po.
The deeply impressed Furious Five accept Po as a kung fu master and their superior. Po returns to Shifu and finds that he is exhausted but alive, and finally at peace now that Tai Lung has been defeated and peace restored. In a post-credits sequence, Po and Shifu are seen eating dumplings under Oogway's favorite peach tree, where a peach seed Shifu had planted earlier has begun to sprout into a seedling.
Taken from :http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kung_Fu_Panda
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